


The Medic and the Witcher

by ValmureEld



Series: I Tried Not to Get Into the Witcher and Look Where That Got Me [19]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Cute, F/M, FIx It, Fluff, Gen, Geralt is a clumsy friend but not an idiot, Heartbeats, Hearts of Stone, Humor, Missing Scene, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Shani is a better medic than that, fill in, let Geralt and Shani be friends, past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 11:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValmureEld/pseuds/ValmureEld
Summary: Shani and Geralt resolve things and reminisce after the wedding.Also known as: Shani deserved better than to be a dashed love interest in HOS.





	The Medic and the Witcher

**Author's Note:**

> A fill in fix it fic for two reasons:
> 
> First reason is, Shani should have reacted more like a medic IMO when Geralt passed out after being possessed. She's portrayed so smart and focused unless Geralt and while I think her crush is still intact I just want to see more than that. 
> 
> Second reason is, for anyone who had their Geralt in a committed relationship and wanted an option besides "kiss/ sleep with Shani" or "leave her sad like an oblivious jerkface" this is it. My Geralt is irrecoverably bound to Yennefer but I think he's fond of Shani and a better friend than to just ditch her sad or lead her on. 
> 
> References to them sleeping together are from the book while she was a med student, and not to any potential game cannon.

Geralt was taking too long, and even though Shani had only been half kidding when she told him the crypt was too spooky for her, she still hesitated going after him.

“He's a witcher. A famous one. He doesn't need help,” she told herself firmly.

That's when she started thinking about all the scars on his body even years ago when they'd spent time together in Oxenfurt and she re-considered before swearing softly and going after him.

“Geralt?” she ventured, moving slowly and looking for him around a damp, stony corner. The ritual seemed to have gone well, if the heavy smoke of incense was any indicator. She coughed and waved some of it away from her stinging eyes.

That's when she saw him on the ground. “Geralt!” she exclaimed, alarmed as she ran to him. With all his heavy armor it was impossible to tell from a distance if he was breathing, and she anxiously fell to her knees at his side and slipped her fingers inside his collar. It took a moment for her to find his pulse, but eventually she managed and it tapped strong, if unusually slow against her fingers.

“Slower heartbeat, right,” she muttered to herself, swallowing and placing her free hand on his cheek. She let out a long breath, her head bowing for a moment as she counted, calculating. For a human he was on the verge of death—for a Witcher his pulse was actually a little elevated. “Scary slow,” she added, moving her hand from his collar to his lips, waiting to feel for breath. This close, when he did finally draw a breath she could hear it, and it was warm on her hand when he let it out again.

“Okay, not dead, good start,” she said, carefully feeling through his hair for any sign of a bump or cut. She glanced around the crypt as she worked, pulling his hair tie free absently so she could inspect the back of his skull more thoroughly. Whatever threat had knocked him out seemed to be gone. She looked back at his slack face, concerned that he wasn't waking up. “Geralt,” she tried a little louder, feeling along his neck for any sign of a spinal injury. When she found none she determined it safe to turn his head and did, thumbing an eyelid open gently as she cradled his skull and turned him to where there was a little more light. His pupil reacted, so there was likely no concussion.

“Great. Come on Geralt,” she coaxed, shifting his head into her lap and shaking his shoulder firmly. Trying to elicit some kind of pain response out of him through three layers of metal and leather wasn't going to work so she just hoped that would rouse him. She was starting to regret not carrying her bag with her like she was accustomed to doing. “Where are the smelling salts?” she wondered aloud, patting in her pockets and hoping she'd remembered those at least.

Turned out, he didn't need smelling salts.

***

“I just wish I had someone....someone to come back to at the end of the day, you know?” Shani confided, feeling foolish and exposed all at once. Geralt was listening, almost too intently, and she couldn't quite meet his eyes. They were more intense in the firelight than she'd remembered and it was making her confused feelings knot up even more. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't be putting this on you,” she said, rubbing at her forehead and offering him a sheepish, somewhat sad smile. “It's been too many years for me to be this familiar.”

“We're still friends, Shani,” Geralt said gently, and that gave her the courage to look up and actually meet his eyes that time. “I won't lie. I can't give you what you're longing for. Never could. Back then I was bound to the Path and now--” he gestured a little, and though he kept his expression soft she could see how secretly happy the statement made him “I'm bound to Yennefer. I've ended my time running from her and trying to find a place. I know that doesn't help you feel better right now, but I guess what I'm hoping you can take away at least is that...if I can do it, so can you. You'll find someone. They'll be lucky to have you.”

Shani couldn't fully stop the pang at his confirmation that he'd committed himself, part of her still wanting that to be her, but she knew that was her loneliness talking and not her love. She did love Geralt, always had, and the part of her that understood that was more happy for him than sad for herself. Even if some of it still stung.

“I'm glad, and yes,” she said at last, deciding that even if the words didn't feel true she'd work at acting like they were. “It does help.”

His smile was small and apologetic, his brows still drawn in a concerned sympathy. “You going to be okay?”

She chuckled a little and shrugged, holding her cup between both hands and looking at the minstrels. “I'm sure I'll be better when I get away from the off-key minstrels. It seems the drink has done them in.”

Geralt made a face and then smiled. “Yeah.....let's get out of here. A walk sounds perfect. Get us away from all the party goers before their unpleasant side wakes up with the dawn.” He got up, glancing at her and offering a hand. “You coming?”

She studied him for a moment before deciding her own longings weren't going to ruin the friendship she had with him. She took his hand and followed him out.

They walked together for a time, making snide comments about the other guests and laughing at the ones who'd passed out in a pile. Shani told Geralt about her clinic and how there'd been just as many miracles as heartbreaks. Geralt told Shani about Ciri and Yennefer and about how he never thought he'd live his way out of a Witcher's life and was maybe a little unsteady now that he had.

They fell into comfort with each other with each new confession of honesty. By the time they reached the lake Geralt's annoyance with the night and Shani's melancholy had dissolved. “Thank you, Geralt,” she said at last, turning to him in the moonlight. “Really. Thank you for all of this. I know it's not easy to be honest.”

Geralt shrugged, looking out over the water. “Don't feel like I did much, but you're welcome. You ready to head home already?”

Shani looked over at the boat nearby and raised an eyebrow.. “Hmm, not just yet. Fancy a sail?”

Geralt followed her line of sight and snorted. “Hardly a boat but sure, I'll join you. Been a while since I've been to a lake for something besides drowner hunting. Could be a nice change.”

“Well, that is the theme of the night,” Shani said, and bent to push the boat into the water, looking into the clear sky. “We go out far enough, we can touch the moon,” she said with a laugh in her eyes.

She was trailing her fingers in moonlight when he shifted closer, resting his back against the head of the boat and stretching out. “Could fall asleep out here if I'm not careful,” he admitted, glancing over the side of the boat and watching Shani's fingers trace ripples. “Being posessed is more exhausting than you'd think.”

“Hmmm, well, Vladamir was a bit more expressive than you tend to be,” she teased, shooting him an amused glance. Geralt snorted and looked away.

“Yeah....well, what can I say. Mutations stripped my emotions and all that.”

“Oh I'm sure they did,” Shani agreed with mock seriousness, sitting up and smiling at him. “Too bad they didn't protect you from getting possessed. Why don't Witchers have something to guard against that, anyway?”

He shrugged one shouldered. “Most ghosts we encounter are either too homicidal or too lost in their own illusion to have the ability to posses, never mind the desire. He was the first ghost I encountered who was perfectly aware and perfectly okay with being dead.”

“Well, notes for future,” she said, leaning her back against the side of the boat next to him. She looked up at the stars, losing herself in the sight until a small shiver raised goose bumps on her skin. She was surprised when Geralt noticed.

“Cold?”

She shrugged. “A little. I forgot how much the temperature drops at night and honestly didn't mean to be out this late.”

“Here,” Geralt said, resting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him. With so little room in the boat, she ended up shifting to lay mostly on top of him, sitting between his legs and resting against his stomach and chest with his arm across her waist. He didn't seem uncomfortable with the arrangement so she gratefully leaned into his warmth and finally, finally relaxed.

The heat of his body quickly spread through her and she sighed in contentment.

“Better?”

“Much, just now I'm getting sleepy. I forgot how warm you are.”

“You can go to sleep if you want. Olgierd can wait till morning and I doubt anyone will look for the boat until then.”

“No, I fall asleep on you like this we'll have to pry you out of the boat in the morning. Your spine will lock up. Let's just stay for a while longer.”

“Alright.”

She closed her eyes and smiled, resting her head against his shoulder and letting out a long, content sigh. His arm kept secure around her waist and she entwined her fingers with his, rubbing her thumb along a new scar there.

“I wonder how many you have now,” she murmured, and he hummed behind her.

“Never counted. More than last time we met.”

“I don't doubt that.”

They fell silent, and Shani listened to the crickets and settled deeper into the peace she'd been wanting. For a while, a long while, she was content just to listen. Geralt's breathing, the steady heat of him and the combination of soft robes and resonant heartbeat were threatening to put her to sleep, but she fought it by focusing her attention elsewhere. She didn't want to sleep because then the moment would end. Besides, she knew he'd never wake her to move her no matter how uncomfortable he became.

Geralt's heart was a distant, sleepy thudding against her mind, and she remembered in a rush of nostalgia how much she'd loved listening to it once. It was something she'd never forgotten, though her memory did it poor tribute. There was such a gentle richness to the sound, just different enough from a normal human sound that she knew she could find him in the dark by it.

She shifted carefully, settling a little further down his chest so she could lay her head and her palm against it.

They were quiet for a long time as she took in the sound, in awe that she could hear distinct pulse cycles so clearly. He must have been falling asleep himself because his heart was steadily slowing.

30......35.....20......15. He was down to only fifteen heartbeats in one minute. And he was still conscious. The young medic in her still marveled.

Despite herself, a memory suddenly struck her and she chuckled, breaking her own spell and smiling against his chest.

“What?” he asked, sounding amused too. He kept his voice quiet though, something she appreciated.

“No, just...” she shook her head, sighing as she snuggled against him. “Thinking back.”

“Oh?” he hummed. “How far?”

“That night,” she admitted, though now that there was a comfortable boundary to their friendship she found she could think about it without pain. She knew Geralt wasn't hers and hadn't ever been, and she found suddenly in that moment she was content with it. “You scared me pretty badly, you know that?”

“Oh....” His voice sounded sad, and something inside him stiffened up, even though he didn't move to push her away. Shani opened her eyes, furrowing her brow and lifting her head to look at him, trying to see in his eyes what she'd said wrong. He looked reserved, his brows drawn and his bearing suddenly withdrawn. “Why didn't you say anything?” he asked at last, his eyes reflecting the moonlight with a catlike flash as he studied her face. “I would have—well.”

“Say anything?” she blinked, her brow furrowing, her hand still resting on his chest. She could feel his heart had picked up slightly and, concerned, she rubbed her thumb against it. “Hey, why would I--” suddenly it clicked for her and her eyes widened. Geralt thought he'd in some way forced himself on her.

“No! Geralt, _no_ , you didn't scare me! I didn't sleep with you for any reason other than I wanted to. _Please_ , no, I don't regret it and you have no reason to feel guilty.” She sat up, putting her hand to her forehead. “Gods, there I go with my shoe in my mouth again.” She raised both hands, pausing the situation before looking at him again. “To clarify, I was crushing on you from the moment you got on campus and you barely had to flirt before I was ready to invite you upstairs. No, when I say you scared me I mean after you fell asleep.”

Now it was his turn to look confused. “I don't follow.”

“Your heart,” Shani said, gesturing to his chest. Geralt's yellow eyes glanced down, then back at her face, raising an eyebrow. Shani blew out a breath, covering her eyes with her palm for a moment. “I can't believe it's still embarrassing to me after all these years,” she laughed, looking up at the starry sky for a moment before smiling at him. “Okay, you'll laugh but I've already started so—I'll just out with it. I thought you were dead.”

“You—what?” Geralt asked, a light of amusement in his own eyes. “Really?”

“Geralt, imagine my situation!” Shani laughed. “I was a green medical student and beyond flustered that the handsome Witcher had picked me even out of all the other options he had. As tired as I was after our night together I was too giddy to sleep, so I stayed up watching you.” She shrugged, and though he looked like he wanted to make a smart comment he didn't interrupt.

“Thing is, as much as I knew about medicine at the time we don't get a special course on Witchers and I failed to realize that your mutations went so far beyond the visual. Your hair, your eyes—which I love by the way,” she added firmly, gripping his wrist when he cast his gaze aside like he was ashamed. He glanced back up at her, brow furrowed like he didn't quite believe her. “I do. I love them. They're absolutely beautiful and I bet if you asked your Yennefer she would agree.”

She reached up to stroke his cheek, willing him to accept the praise. It had made her sad, the first time she realized he didn't see himself in a positive light. Geralt blinked, his pupils shifting in the moonlight.

"I was dead..." he prompted, and sensing his discomfort decided not to press him.

"Right," she said, dropping her hand from his face. "Well, I rest my head against your chest and heard nothing. No breathing, no pulse. Didn't matter how warm you still were, I seriously thought for a horrifying moment that you were dead."

Geralt frowned a little. "That sounds terrifying, not funny," he admitted. "I feel like I should still apologize...."

She shrugged, flushing and wondering if he could see it in the moonlight with those cat eyes. "No," she chuckled. "The next part is what makes it funny. Instead of keeping my head or following logic I honestly thought the most absurd things. My first thought was _I'd_ done something to you! Started worrying about..." she waved a hand, snorting and scrunching her nose "bizarre Witcher allergies to whatever we'd eaten or the wine or even my perfume of all things."

Geralt's lips twitched then and the absurdity of the situation started to show in his eyes.

"See!" Shani said, grinning then. "I told you you'd laugh!"

"It is kinda funny, sorry. Still sorry I scared you. How slow was it, out of curiosity? You can't have waited all that long."

"Geralt, I don't know if you realize this, but most of the time if you have to wait more than three seconds for a heartbeat there's a problem. Your heart was resting for almost twenty seconds between beats. So...yeah. I thought you were dead."

"Okay, I'll concede that. Not your fault you didn't know about Witcher mutations though. It does explain why you looked so....shocked when I woke up. I remember now you wouldn't answer me and I thought for certain I'd offended you somehow."

"No, just my pride. The experience knocked me down a peg," she said wryly. "I thought I was on top of everything, sharpest pin in the pack. And then instead of thinking for a second that maybe there was a better answer than "I accidentally killed my lover", my mind ran right away. I felt like a novice all over again. In the end it was a good lesson. I don't jump to conclusions dealing with nonhuman patients like I might have otherwise." 

"Well, glad I could be of use then. I do find it funny though, how many of you seem to have taken an interest in my heart. I never really thought about it before."

"Oh? Who else do you mean?"

"Well Yennefer as a start. It was one of the first things she said to me. Asking about it. Of course I don't really have an answer--it's just my heart. I don't do much with it. But she can hear it from across a room and seems to like the sound. Same with my friend Regis back in Toussaint."

"Well, I think you're fooling yourself if you truly think you don't use your heart," she teased lightly. "And I'm sorry if you find it strange it's just, hard not to appreciate something that keeps someone you love alive and safe."

Geralt blinked at that, humming as he turned his gaze out over the water. "Yes, I think Regis tried to explain it like that once."

"Well, Regis sounds like he knows what he's talking about."

"I guess if anyone would know, it'd be a vampire."

There was a beat of silence where Shani processed what she'd heard, trying to decide what Geralt had actually said. "Your friend Regis....is a vampire."

Geralt chuckled. "I know, Shani. Believe me. I know. I've stopped being surprised myself." 

**Author's Note:**

> Ok but what would you do if you found out the hard way that this guy you were crushing on has a resting heart rate of EIGHT while he sleeps.
> 
> Had a hard time wrapping this up and parts didn't want to flow but eh *flings into the pool of fiction* good enough. It's fanfic. Fanfic is supposed to be fun.


End file.
